


Your First Boyfriend

by mimimola



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: M/M, One Shot, teeny bit of angst with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-09 15:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19890262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mimimola/pseuds/mimimola
Summary: Now as an adult, Cyrus has just finished his undergrad. He takes time to reflect on one of the most important relationships from his teenage years.





	Your First Boyfriend

Cyrus was about to begin a new chapter in his life.

He had just earned his bachelor’s degree in digital cinema and was on his way to entering graduate school as well. At the moment, he was back home in Shadyside with his parents for the summer until he moved away again.

The past four years had been an amazing, albeit stressful, experience for Cyrus. He made new friends, had roommates, a part-time job and enjoyed life being independent. He of course kept in touch with Andi, Buffy and Jonah once in a while. It was definitely harder these days to catch up, however, now that everyone had their own busy lives to live. But he was happy for them, and he was happy for himself as well.

But the one person he had no idea of their whereabouts or career goals was T.J. Kippen. They broke up a short while before high school graduation, realizing their paths were going in different directions and how hard it would be to have a long distance relationship. After many discussions and regrettably some arguments, they went with the decision to separate. Both were heartbroken, but Cyrus knew it was for the best. He didn’t want to hold T.J. back from any chance of happiness or opportunity, and he knew T.J. wished the same for him.

But now… he didn’t have the courage nor time to look him up. At first it was painful, but the pain had lessened over time the more they spent apart from each other. And now four years later, it was easy.

He’d gone on a couple of dates, even almost entered a relationship with a guy in his scriptwriting class ― Alex was his name, but it never amounted to anything, and he was okay with that.

As Cyrus unpacked his things to put away in his old room, he remembered a conversation he’d had with Alex. They were both in their senior year at the time and they’d been spending a lot of time together, even after Cyrus had turned him down. One night in particular, they were reviewing each other’s final projects, a short film, in the library. Cyrus was concentrated on the film on his laptop, and he could see Alex watching him out of the corner of his eye.

“Tell me about your first boyfriend,” Alex said suddenly.

Cyrus looked up from the screen. “What?”

“Your first boyfriend,” Alex repeated. “You’ve mentioned him once or twice, I think. What was he like?”

“Why so sudden?” Cyrus tried to smile, but he felt caught off guard.

“I just wanna know who was the lucky guy to be dating you, I guess. What was his name?”

Cyrus shrugged and paused the video. His eyes immediately went to a window. He could see the campus street lights and the tree branches swaying in the wind. It was probably still chilly out; he was glad he brought his jacket to school.

“His name was T.J ― I mean ― his name _is_ T.J. We went to junior high and high school together. He was a mean jock and I was a nobody.”

He waited for Alex to interrupt him and tease him like he always did, but thankfully he said nothing.

“But I wasn’t a nobody to him… and he wasn’t so mean. He was actually really, really nice to me ― just to me at first, until he started opening up to other people.” Cyrus found himself smiling a little at the memory of when they first officially met in the school cafeteria. “Anyway, I think we really helped each other. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think I would have been so open to trying new things and eager to leave my comfort zone, you know?”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “Do you ever regret breaking up?”

“No,” Cyrus said automatically. This was something he had decided a long time ago. “I don’t. And I have no ill feelings towards him, either. They’re all just happy memories now.”

The rest of the night had passed in near silence as Cyrus directed the rest of his attention on the short film. And as he walked back to his dorm, he started to regret telling Alex all of those things. Sure, he hadn’t spontaneously started talking about his ex, and he _was_ asked about it, but he wondered if Alex really deserved to know what little he shared about T.J. Plus, there was a reason Cyrus didn’t want to date Alex, he just wasn’t for him. Was it really any of his business?

And he would've been lying if he said there wasn’t a reason why he smiled whenever he saw a muffin at the bakery or when he passed by a playground and saw a swing set ― or even a golf cart if he happened to come across one. They were connected to some of his most treasured moments during his teenage years and he wanted to keep those to himself.

Back in the present, Cyrus woke up in his bedroom with the most nostalgic yet strangest feeling. His mother had rearranged his desk and bed around while he was gone and he unexpectedly liked it that way. He ate breakfast with her and his stepdad before getting into his car. He wanted to pass by _The Spoon,_ maybe even his old schools. But there was a place he knew he wanted to go to first.

After parking his car, Cyrus slowly got out and took in the old, familiar sight of the park. He inhaled deeply.

 _I wonder if this place smells different,_ he thought as he walked across the grass. Then the corner of his mouth lifted as he sang a song in his head.

_Legs go up, legs go down._

_That’s how we make the swing go ‘round._

_Drag your feet, you go slow._

_The more you drag, the less you go._

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. There was already someone in one of the swings, back turned to him, except he wasn’t swinging at all. The bright light of the summer sun highlighted his blonde hair so it was hard to miss.

_It isn’t him, is it?_

He was taller, tall enough that his feet touched the ground even as he sat on the swing. His hair was different, too. No longer gelled up like it used to be. Cyrus’s mouth felt dry as he swallowed. Perhaps it was just his imagination and he was only seeing what he wanted to see. What were the odds that he was home, too? But he had to be sure. He took slow but sure steps onto the sidewalk and towards the man.

His turned slightly at the sound of footsteps and his eyes widened at the sight of Cyrus, mouth open in surprise as he stood. Cyrus stepped onto the wood chips towards the next empty swing. He took a deep breath.

He was about to begin a new chapter in his life, and he was ready.

Cyrus smiled a little and nodded towards the empty seat.

“Is that swing taken?”

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely enjoy writing stories where the character or characters reflect on their past! And I loved the idea of exploring a little bit of what Cyrus felt about T.J. and what exactly he benefited from him, since it's not something talked about a whole lot in the show, but rather something implied :)  
> Thank you so much for reading!!


End file.
